My Hero
by quesera1
Summary: Based on Ruzek's comment in 5x01 about Jay punching a cop that was harassing Erin. One-shot.


Erin felt her cell phone buzz for what was probably the tenth time that evening. Jay picked up an overtime shift with Ruzek, and apparently the fundraiser they were patrolling was even more boring than they'd anticipated. Jay had been texting her all night, partly to tell her about the drunken antics they were witnessing, but mostly just because he missed her.

They'd only been living together for a few weeks, and Ruzek kept teasing him about being in the 'honeymoon' phase. Of course those comments just earned Ruzek a playful punch to the shoulder—Jay didn't need anyone uttering anything even _remotely_ relating to marriage around Erin. Moving in together was a big enough commitment for her, he didn't want to push her or do anything to scare her away.

While he was working, she was hanging out at home alone, trying to focus on the Hawks game. She'd promised to keep Jay updated on the score, but like him, most of her texts were born out of missing him.

As she slipped the phone out of her back pocket, her excitement quickly vanished. Instead of a message from her boyfriend, the notification showed it was from Cameron Wright. Erin and Wright had worked together on a case with Vice earlier that week. Things were slow in Intelligence, so she'd volunteered to help them out. They got along well enough, but when the case ended she got the sense that Wright wanted something more from her. Sure enough, he had started texting her constantly.

At first it was innocent enough:

 _Thanks for your help with the case._

 _What are you up to tonight?_

 _Want to grab a beer after shift?_

Erin and Jay didn't exactly flaunt their relationship around the district, so she figured he didn't know that she was spoken for. She'd politely declined, simply letting Wright know that she had a boyfriend.

But apparently he didn't care. Erin had to admit, he was ballsy. Again she told him she wasn't interested, adding that she was completely in love with her boyfriend. His subsequent texts became increasingly persistent, not to mention wildly inappropriate. Tonight's was the worst yet:

 _Heard Halstead's working overtime… If he's not getting in your pants tonight, maybe I should… I'll fuck you until you can't feel your legs._

Erin was absolutely flabbergasted—she didn't even know how to reply to that. Her disgust quickly turned to rage and she decided to just delete the text. It was clear at that point that nothing she could say would get through to him.

So she sent one to Jay instead:

 _Think you'll be home soon? I miss you._

When her phone buzzed yet again, Erin immediately tensed up, almost afraid to look at the response. Fortunately, it was from Jay:

 _Home in less than an hour. Love you._

Erin smiled. It was amazing that one simple text from her boyfriend could turn her mood around so quickly. She shut off her phone and set it on the coffee table, turned off the TV, and went to shower and get ready for bed. She was just slipping into one of Jay's t-shirts when she heard his key turning in the lock. Moments later he was standing in the doorway to their bedroom.

His words were soft, as he spoke, his brow furrowed with concern, "Hey, what happened to you?"

"What… what do you mean? I'm fine."

"I tried calling you on my way home from the district. It went straight to voicemail—you never turn off your phone. What's going on?"

Erin sighed as she ran her hands through her hair, "Honestly it's not that big of a deal."

"Tell me," Jay crossed his arms across his chest and leaned against the dresser. The look on his face made it clear that he wasn't going to let this go.

"Okay. Don't get mad… Remember how I worked that case with Vice?"

"Yes, it was like two days ago… seriously what's going on? You're kind of freaking me out here babe."

"Okay, well the cop I was working with, Wright? He sort of… made a pass at me," Erin held up her hands when she noticed Jay's eyes darken with anger. "I handled it. I told him I was with you, I made it clear that I wasn't interested."

"So why'd you turn off your phone?"

"Apparently he doesn't understand the meaning of the word _no_."

Jay's jaw dropped and his eyebrows shot up in surprise. "What?! What did he do?!"

"He's been texting me. Like I said, I handled it."

"Show me."

Erin reluctantly left their bedroom to grab her phone from the coffee table; she could feel Jay following close behind her. She switched it back on, scrolled to open up Wright's messages, and handed the phone to him.

Jay was dead silent as he read, his face completely stoic. When he'd finished he looked up at Erin, his eyes red and his jaw set. While Erin didn't know exactly what was going through his head, it was clear that he was livid.

"Jay…" she began slowly, tentatively.

"How… what…" Jay struggled to form words, his anger getting the better of him. "I'm going to kill him."

Erin repeated his name, her tone almost warning him this time, "Jay…"

"This is not okay Erin."

"I never said it was okay, but like I told you, I handled it. So just leave it, please?"

Jay ran his fingers along his forehead as he fell silent again. He sighed before nodding at her. "Okay, okay." He kissed her hard, almost possessively, before practically dragging her back to their bedroom.

* * *

When they pulled into the district the next morning, Erin glanced over at Jay in the passenger seat. She could tell he was still agitated, so she reached over and gently cupped his cheek in her palm, "I love you."

He smiled and repeated the sentiment before unbuckling his seatbelt and leaning in to softly kiss along her neck. "Jay, we're at work," she murmured, fighting against the pleasure spreading from his lips through her neck and all over her body.

He pulled back and grinned at her, "Not yet we aren't."

"Come on, let's go. You know how Hank gets when we're late. And who knows what he'll say if I walk in with a hickey again."

Jay laughed, "That was one time!"

They reluctantly pulled apart and walked inside. Platt waved them over—well, she waved _Erin_ over, Jay followed, they were sort of a package deal—to her desk to let them know Intelligence had just caught a case, and that they should pick up the pace and get upstairs.

Just as they were turning away from Platt's desk, Wright sauntered into the district. Jay was still on edge from the previous night's big reveal, so Erin wasn't surprised when she glanced up and saw his face clouded with rage. "Hey," she spoke softly, reaching up to place her hand on his chest, an action that always seemed to calm him. "Come on, babe, let's go."

If looks could kill, Wright would have been dead right then. Fortunately, Jay listened to Erin, letting her push him up the stairs to the bullpen.

* * *

It had turned out that their case was open-and-shut. Their _brilliant_ suspect was quickly found 'hiding out' at his girlfriend's place, and he cracked after less than a minute in the interrogation room. As everyone finished up their paperwork, Jay suggested they head over to Molly's for a drink. Olinsky and Voight declined—Molly's wasn't exactly their scene—but the rest of the unit quickly agreed.

They met up around nine and enjoyed a few rounds, laughing, chatting and generally just enjoying the company of their Intelligence family. Antonio excused himself around ten-thirty, and Burgess ducked out not long after, leaving just Ruzek, Atwater, Jay, and Erin.

The boys were laughing about something, so Erin got up to order another round. Just as Herrmann walked back to fill their pitcher, Wright appeared at Erin's side.

"Hey," somehow that simple greeting was almost menacing coming from Wright's lips.

Erin didn't say a word, instead just narrowing her eyes at him. Wright couldn't take a hint— _again_ —and leaned even closer to her. She was beyond uncomfortable, craning her neck to try to make eye contact with Herrmann, hoping to hurry him along so she could get back to the guys.

Wright took his actions a step further still: he'd moved his hand to graze along the small of her back. Erin immediately tensed up at his touch, anger rising up in her and she practically fell over trying to move away from him. "Please stop."

"You okay, Lindsay? This guy bothering you?" Herrmann asked as approached them, sliding the pitcher of beer across the bar to Erin. He could tell something was… off.

Erin didn't want to make a scene. They were at Molly's. It was busy. And even though Wright was a creep, he was still a fellow cop. This could get real messy, real quick. She took a deep breath and nodded. But her nostrils were flared and her face was red, giving away her true feelings.

Herrmann noticed her reaction, looking back and forth between them; Wright still hadn't stepped away. "Hey buddy, leave her alone." But the guy didn't listen. Yet again. He stayed right beside Erin, his eyes roaming her body, making her feel even more uncomfortable than she already was. "Hey, I said, knock it off!" Herrmann's voice was raised this time, alerting the other patrons to the commotion at the bar. Atwater, Ruzek and Jay all turned their heads at the sound.

When Jay saw the man standing by Erin, he sprang from his seat at lightning speed, storming over to them. Wright was an asshole and a pervert, plain and simple, and Jay couldn't stand to see him harassing his girl for another second. He was too angry to speak. He shoved Wright back from Erin, balled his hand into a fist and clocked the guy square in the jaw.

Wright reacted immediately, moving to hit Jay back. But Atwater and Ruzek had managed to break the two men apart. Wright was cradling his jaw—it was already swelling up—as Atwater pushed him toward the exit. Ruzek held Jay back the entire time, not wanting things to escalate any further.

"She told you to leave her alone asshole!" Jay growled after him. He was still riled up long after Wright had left the pub. His ears and neck were red with rage, and he was breathing heavily trying to settle himself down. Herrmann handed Erin a bag of ice for Jay's hand; his knuckles were already red and raw and swollen.

Erin thanked Herrmann for the ice, quickly apologizing for the drama before she turned to Jay. "Come on Mike Tyson, let's get out of here." Erin reached for his arm, giving it a gentle squeeze as she ushered him out the door. As they walked to their car, she touched the ice to Jay's hand. He flinched at the initial contact, but her warm hand on his wrist settled him.

They got in the car and sat in silence for a few minutes, Jay staring out the passenger window, Erin staring at him. When she eventually spoke, her words were quiet and careful: "You didn't have to do that you know."

Jay turned, snapping his head to look at her. "What? Of course I did. That guy's a creep! I couldn't watch him treat you like that!"

"I know." Erin reached over, both of her hands cupping Jay's face. His own hands moved to grasp her wrists, holding her there as they stared into each other's eyes for what felt like forever.

Jay was the first to move, leaning closer and crashing his lips over hers. Just as he tried to deepen the kiss, Erin pulled back and smiled at him.

"My hero."


End file.
